Read School Notes

Notes

April 1, 1998

Hi! Another mixed up day today. No art due to rehersal and an assembly 10:15. We left for Mrs. R's room for the first time so Kat could get in some academics. Fortunately, Ms. L. was free to do reading with Kat one-on-one - it was an excellent lesson and Kat had to listen carefully to match phonics sounds. It is great to see her learning from another teacher without any prompting necessary from me.

Noticed a lot of posing and silly faces this morning - almost hyper silliness - but not much silly talk. Your theory about keeping Kat engaged is right because when she was working one-on-one with Ms. L1., she's not exhibiting these stims at all. She just walked to the bathroom and up they went again. The assembly was long but full of the music of George and Ira Gerswin. Kat clearly enjoyed it but sat right in the middle of a large group of children. I could only prompt her when she looked my way. She didn't talk but there were a lot of physical stims and unfortunately she had a grand time picking her nose and putting it in her mouth. When she looked at me I simply gestured "NO!" and showed her the red purse. (I took out a handful of dimes). She stopped immediately. I knew if I took her out at that point it would have caused a scene, so guess I have to save it for a better time.

The rest of the morning we caught up on seatwork that had not been completed in Mrs. R's room. We also had a few minutes to practice reading aloud. She still drops her volume to low but I used a system of reinforcement that worked wonders. I gave her a pretzel stick whenever she maintained good volume. Then I read, she was the teacher and told me "louder, Melissa." Found that she could monitor my volume as well as her own quite well.

Speech after lunch involved teaching synonyms. Had a very short math lesson (10 min.) before going to Social Studies. They review the homework done last night in their packets. Mrs. D asked Kat to say "Bill of Rights" - She said it loud and clear to match Mrs. D's voice! Kat did not eat sugar at lunch today I do not know if it is a coincidence but her stims were down this afternoon. She is doing just find now and is happily copying Social Studies seatwork. Have a good week and weekend!

Melissa

Linda, can you see if they sell E.T. Hamilton planners at the school store? The are notebook sized. If so, buy one for her homework assignments. Thanks!

A.

April 2,1998

Hello! Kat 's hair looks beautiful today - I told her so & got a very nice "thank you"! Kinda a "mixed up" day, No P.E. Went to Mrs. R's room 'til 10:00. Kat initated her seatwork very happy and a little hyper this morning. Very responsive though! I gave her a look & she is now working & is quiet is a mouse! She is beening sooo quiet, really working hard this morning *(lots of dimes !). Back to Mrs. D's for science! Attentive! few prompts for transition from book to "eyes on teacher" for lecture but overall good! very quiet! When she read for the class her volume was too low and she also needed a prompt for she was using a "silly voice" (maybe one she heard on a tape ?) After - she read fine - a little uneven. back to Mrs. R. - the class played "MADLIBS" to practice adjectives, verbs, etc! Kat was AWESOME today - gave so many original responses! She was very responsive and attentive to Ms. L1. (with my occasional prompts). prompts for Kat were ("give me a person, place or thing"), (adj. - "a descrbing word ...") She was able to come up w/ a lot on her own - (Nouns- "doll," "Mom," "cake.")! (Lots of dimes!) adjectives (needed a little more prompting). Verbs- with prompts- ("driving," "running," "write.") Took prompts from Ms. L1., very attentive, great! Could not go to the gym today do to varies activities and rehearsals so Kat & I took a walk to the school store! (Closed, Kat enjoyed the walk and we stopped and looked at Katherine's art projects hanging in the hall. She did excellent w/ the spelling "quiz" I gave her (- she practiced writting the words she got wrong & got them all right- when I quizzed just those words! Great study skills in Spelling!

"Wow!" went to dance rehearsal w/ Kat - she was great! She really enjoyed herself & she is GOOD! She followed every step perfectly, smiling the whole time! ALOT of steps to remember she "got it" so quick!

Back in Mrs. R. - Kat watched a video on Volcanoes then played a game of concentration & did wonderfully! She remembers a lot of what she learned in science. she knew most of the volcano vocabulary ! Attentive, quiet, no silliness or verbal stim! I can't give her enough dimes today!!! "BRAVO Kat!" She is so "tuned in" & happy & social! What a great day!

I went to the ladies room while she was finishing seatwork - when I returned she quoted a tape & started really trying to talk to me! Then she said "(Hi Linda where did you go?!?" I told her & asked her if she "missed me?" She touched my arm and said "Yes!" She is "soooo with me" today! Kat is so aware of people & conversations! She repeats alot of my conversational remarks to her lately, she really listens! *Kat made great attempts to simply talk to me today! K. "I like dogs, do you like dogs?" "I like pizza, do you like pizza?" She smiled alot and awesome eye contact! & ECHOED ALOT of what I said to her! No silly talk/singing at all this afternoon! She has been sooo composed & natural & just completely aware & interested in everyone around her! Kat did wonderful w/ "telling time." She got little confused (and restless) with "a.m. and p.m." but she caught on w/ prompting and practice! VERY happy! (hugged me twice today), very affectionate. (Not appropriate?). I just about emptied the change purse today - Kat was TERRIFIC! I was so happy and proud of her all day!

L.

Hi L, Kat did not get a chance to finish her homework. Enclosed is yearbook money and Univ. of Penn. Money.

D.

April 3, 1998

Good Morning! got a very sweet "Good Morning L,", had to prompt eye contact. alot of silly faces during rehearsal this morning as we watched the play - nice singing on cue though! Got a little stimmy, silly from the excitement o/ singing & watching the play! She really did enjoy herself during play. Seatwork was a little hard for Kat today, she initiated seatwork on her own but needed a lot of prompts for a difficult Math ditto and a Language activity, great attempts! Attention up & down during Reading - needed prompts from me to respond to Ms. L1., went over new vocabulary. Had Kat do some "Extra Work" w/ Reading Comprehension unprompted. Then had her revise her work (Prompted to look bk at story to fix her answers).

Went to the gym before Language! Ran some laps, played a little basketball - praciced dribbling & shooting baskets! Kat got tired after two laps around the gym and announced that she wanted to play basketball! GREAT! played a little basketball- practiced dribbling and shooting baskets ! Kat had fun but got really winded and wanted to go back to Mrs. R's room! Kat was done her seatwork so quickly today ("Extra wk"!) that she had time for an ART project! Kat made a very creative and wonderful bug for the "We're ''buggy'' about spring!" She did a wonderful job on her bug - cutting and tracing, nice attention, took her time! Then Kat chose different color "pom-poms" & pipe cleaners & colored sparkly papers to glue to the wings! Her bug turned out beautiful, She really does great w/ art projects now! Attn to detail & Recess was a blast!

Kat was sooo cute! Oh another girl joined Kat & D1. on the swings! A1. - Kat really seemed to get a "kick" out of her! She is very friendly & animated - Kat was really watching her & even laughing hysterically. Amusing situation with the swings- they put too much hay/mulch under them so now the swings hang too low and the ground is too high! It was quite ridiculous (the swings were already too LOW) & comical to see the girls try to swing - Kat was just as amused & laughing as the other girls - it was quite a funny scene! A1. invited Kat to play on the "jungle gym" w/ her & D1. - Kat had happily joined them! Sooo natural & happy with the girls today!

Before leaving for Mrs. D's this afternoon, Kat wrote an adorable and very imagnitive story with prompting by me and Mrs. R. about her "Silly Clown Bee"! intial prompts - she came up w/ alot of great ideas, adjectives & details for her story! (& had FUN writing her story). (took 1 dime for "the giggles").

Science - Attn up & down, looking at her watch, restless - took a dime. needed prompts to follow in book, copied vocab. in her science notebook beautifully during "free time". *A wonderful day! Lots of dimes! A little more "silly talk/singing than yesterday but cost-response was effective! Very happy & *talkative all day! Have a great weekend!

L.

April 6, 1998

Hi. Not a very eventful weekend. Taxes! Kat did do something neet. She was sleeping in the morning so I went over and said to her, "Good morning Kat, it's time to get up" she opened her eyes (very sleepy) and said "No my mother. I won't get up". It's a phrase from Lazy Mary - nursery rhyme. But she used it appropriately. Silly talk was up this weekend since she was on her own a lot.

D.

April 6, 1998

Hello! When I came in Kat was passing out the health folders. She handed out the ones she knew but when she got to the ones she didn't know she didn't call out their names as Mrs. D. told her. She got threw it with prompting from Mrs. D. and I. They had rehearsal from 9:10-10:00 in the gym. Very long. Kat knew when to get up and sing. She knows a lot of the words, too! After rehearsal, they copied notes from the board. Kat took out her notebook and started writing independently! Unfortunately, she got out her Social Studies notebook, but I caught the error after the first few lines. Kat was absoultely silent while copying from the board. They watched a 2 minute for the video and read p. 292-295. Then, they copied vocab. words. They did not have reading with Mrs. H., so Kat went to Mrs. R's room early. Kat had trouble with her reading, language, and math dittos. I sat next to her to help her w/ language. She was doing a lot of posing and wiggling, but silly talk was not present at all! Hmm! After all of her seatwork was done Kat and I played basketball, ran and played volleyball for 15 min.

Lunch was rather uneventful. Kat did okay in line. I walked up as she was getting her food. During recess, I prompted some conversation with D1. but D1. was upset about the swings and not in the mood to talk.

After lunch, Kat worked on the language h.w. that she had not done. Then, they had a language lesson. Kat was not sitting up or paying attention. It was v. hard to prompt her from across the room. I knelt beside her desk and prompted her to work w/ the rest of the class.

After language, Kat worked on some extra seatwork. Then, they had the reading enrichment program and competition. Kat participated and K., a classmate, helped her. She rang the bell, but didn't answer any questions. She sat quietly and smiled a lot. She was paying attention and enjoying herself. See you tonight!

A.

April 7, 1998

Hi Melissa. At clinic last night, A. said she had a difficult time controlling Kat from the distance in Mrs. D's room. there isn't enough room to move away?

D.

April 7, 1998

In Mrs. D's room we really should'nt be moving away yet - Kat still needs close contact to stay on track and keep up the pace in Social Studies and Science. But in Mrs. R's room, we should move away and let Kat seek assistance if she needs it she can either ask her teachers or the kids next to her first - and if they can't help her (or are busy) she can come to one of us. We don't have to sit next to her and prompt too much.

Rehearsal went very smoothly, Kat was quiet and attentive and Mrs. B. remarked wished one of the other kids behaved as well as Kat.

Right now, we are back in Mrs. D's class and Dr. W., J's dad, is here to give a talk on the brain. He is a Professor of Neuro-biology at Allegheny Med. Center and has brought in a real brain for the kids to see (and a skull and some other very interesting things). Kat is fascinated - and with the exception of silly faces (probably some grimacing at the sight of the brain). She is very quiet and attentive. All the kids just put on gloves and got to touch the brain! Kat was really interested - what a wonderful way for her to learn. She is genuinely fascinated by all of this.

Mrs. D. just told me that they will try to have the Social Studies test tomorrow - but if not, it will be Thursday. This is going to be a very short week as they only have a half day on Thursday. In Mrs. R's room, Kat taught the end of language lesson on adverbs vs. adjectives. The rest of the time she caught up on her seatwork. We practiced asking for help - asking her teachers, the other kids and then me as the last resort. She was fine - no silly talk - just a lot of wiggling. At recess, Kat said something neat. She was swinging and stopped, looked at me and said "It's too high." She was referring to the new mulch they had put down under the swings which didn't allow her feet to go under her.

No music this afternoon due to music/play rehearsal this morning. Kat practiced her dance with another girl at lunch I think she will follow along alright as it is not too complicated.

In math this afternoon, they continued the lesson on elapsed time. This is a little more difficult for Kat and she is learning to either add or move the hands on the clock to figure out the answer. Talk with you soon.

Melissa

April 8, 1998

I've been looking for a calendar for Kat's assignments but it's been difficult to find. I bought the little green notebook to see if she could use that for assignments. Let me know if it's ok.

D.

April 8, 1998

Hi! Another mixed up day due to the rehearsals. We went to straight to Mrs. R's and Kat started on the seatwork independently. I sat little behind and off to her right. She asked me for help but I told her to try on her own (it was a reading crossword puzzle with parts of speech). Then I moved across the room. When she was done with each assignment she took it to Mrs. L. (3/4 independently and 1/4 she came to me first.)

When Mrs. L1. told Kat to come for reading, I had to go over and prompt her to stop working on extra seatwork. She gathered her materials and went over to the table independently! They corrected errors in sentences. Kat needed a lot of help. I sat to the side and behind her. Maybe we need to vary where we sit depending on how much prompting Kat needs. Kat was more independent when I sat across the room. She approached Ms. L1. independently and interacted more. It is harder to consequate every inappropriate behavior, but I think that Kat being independent is more important at this point.

Kat picked out a pitcher to write a story about on the computer. She needed a lot of prompting but it was a good use of the usual describe drill!

At 10:45, Kat had rehearsal. I ran to Mrs. D's to get Kat's H.W. folder. When I returned, Kat at was dancing with her group! I sat about 8 feet from Kat, but she kept picking her nose, so I moved closer. Kat was just as wiggly as the other kids. She imitated the behavior of the girls around her. After we came back, Kat did some extra seatwork and then went to the library. Melissa and I talked about proximity fading a little more. We think we should vary where we are depending on Kat's needs. See you tonight!

A.

Hi!

Came in to take over from Amy about 12:15. Looks as if Kat is having a great day - was very happy at lunch and recess. Found the green notebook - did you know that she wrote on several pages already ? She made "lists" - I'm not sure if she did this at home or before school. Anyhow, we started "Homework assignments" and had her copy today's work. We'll keep it right in the yellow folder.

In speech, they are writing the singular and plural forms of verbs. It is Kat's turn at the board and she is following the class example. She has been very quiet the last few days - only lots of "faces" evident.

In science today, they are studying land forms and masses. Kat listened during discussion periods but kept looking back at the clock to see what time it was. There is a test tomorrow over Chap. 15. The key vocabulary is in Kat's notebook and also the notes she has taken from the board in class. The vocabulary is what needs to be defined for tomorrow's work. It is in her science notebook on the yellow post note. Talk with you soon, I hope!

Melissa

April 9, 1998

L. - Excellent morning! Kat was extraordinary during rehearsal! She followed the play beautifully w/ very little prompting! Attention up and stims down. No silly talk! I stood away from Kat (about 12 feet) in front & to the side so Kat could see me - she looked for me for encouragement during her "singing parts" of the play - I smiled at her & gestured for her to sing! Kat sang great with good volume & intonation.

She only missed (tripped) a step or two during her dance rountine! T1. complimented Kat on her singing! Attn was very high! She was smiling & truly doing her best! I was very impressed watching Kat really "tune in" & cue off the other kids throughout rehearsal - she was quiet & really listening - got up and went to stage for her dance number, w/o any prompting from me - she listened to teacher's directions and watched the other kids - GREAT! (Only 1 silly face and one pose while watching the play.) I gave her a "Look?" & she understood.

Kat is now taking her science test ON HER OWN w/o prompting (as D. wanted) I only went over the directions in each section w/ Kat to be sure she understood! She is struggling a bit w/ the short answer section but she is writing answers to each question - I've only intervened to tell her to slow down & take her time and remember what she studied & once to redirect her. (She got restless during the test & started inappropriate conversation with me, "I like alley cat, do you like alley cat?" ..... "I like cats..." ). She did calm down w/ some prompting and finished the short essays independently & the extra credit. *EXTRA credit was on volocanoes*<. One thing that distressed me is that even w/ slight prompting, Kat did not recall any what she seemed to know so well last week on volocanoes. She insisted on answering volocano questions with her current vocabulary - She just could NOT switch "gears"! I tried to redirect her - I had her check over her test before she handed it in. I feel bad that she couldn't get the VOLCANOE questions. I know she knew them, I just couldn't "get it out" of her! She just could not think past the current material. So aside from that slight intervention Kat did complete the science test independently - all the answers are HER OWN!

Mrs. R's class - a FUN day! Native American arts & crafts followed by a pizza party & a movie - "FLY AWAY HOME"! Kat did a wonderful job on her crafts - a little stimmy, some singing - which usually surfaces during art projects! When Kat completed her "sand art" picture & sewing her moccasins. she enjoyed a great pizza part ! Kat really liked the movie, attn up, no silly talk/stims! It really is a cute movie, Kat was "glued to" the TV screen! She really got involved in the story! She smiled & laughed appropriately and seemed so genuinely touched & excited by the sentimental parts of the movie! GREAT! No stims at all! A very easy and FUN day! I will finish up the day with Kat at home!

L.

April 20, 1998

Good morning Melissa, sorry I didn't get a chance to call you b efore you left. Can you give me a call this morning when you get a chance

D.

April 20, 1998

Hi Danuta, A few bits of info. about tonight. The performances is at 7:30 but the kids should be there by 7:00. However, I did hear Ms. M. say that some children have other things to do beforehand and if they were not in band, they wouldn't be needed exactly at 7:30, since the orchestra and band go first. Watching her this morning was a treat - I know she'll do well tonight!

We finished out the morning with a language lesson on parts of speech with Ms. L1. She asked Kat twice for examples of adverbs and with a little prompting, Kat understood. Right now, they have covered nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Although these are difficult concepts, I feel she is picking them up. When she finished the language lesson, she did her daily seatwork. Both spelling in language were challenging today, but Kat persevered and did quite well. I did, however, do some direct teaching with her on certain concepts when the other teachers were not available to do so. At lunch, I tried a new strategy to get her to talk a little more. She asked for snack money so I sent her up with not enough money to buy it. She tired to leave when Ms. M1. explain to her that she didn't have quite enough money. She had to listen, come back and tell me the problem. It worked. She said "I need money" and we had a dialogue started. I think we can create more situations in which Kat has to talk in order to get what she wants - and we can prolong those conversations as time permits. Mrs. D. told me that science will be the focus for the next few weeks in her class. The next test is coming up at the end of this week. Will let you know exactly when, but they won't have science again until Wed. of this week.

In math, they are reviewing elapsed time, and the usage of quarter of/after, half past, etc. This is difficult for Kat because of the use of so much language in trying to teach the concept but she is following along in the group. They have a test on this Wednesday over this material.

I'll be here 3 days in a row this week which will be good. Willl really try to zero in what we need to do between now and year's end. See you tomorrow!

Melissa

April 21, 1998

Hi Melissa, It would e great if you could let Kat get on the bus & come here right away. It would give you extra time to look over the academic program.

D.

April 21, 1998

Hi! P.E. first this morning with double classes due to the half day schelude. It was chaotic but Kat has managed to learn how to handle it - as well as doing a fine job at learning to bat the ball over the net, even serve it. I'm impressed that she even tries to hit it without prompting. Now we are Mrs. R's room listening to a presentation by Mrs. H. The kids are learning to make "dream catchers" an Indian device to catch good dreams. I've decided to see if Kat can do this without my help - if she needs guidance, I'll let the other 3 teachers prompt her. It was a complicated project but Kat made it through with my model from across the room (simply could look at what I was doing) and direct help from the teachers. She went to right to work on her daily seatwork after Mrs. H. left, writing her homework assignments for tomorrow and completing each subject without help.

There will be tests in both math and science test tomorrow. Math will be over elapsed time and Science over chaps. 14 and 15 and will be an objective test.

It is almost lunch and Kat is finishing her journal for this morning. I'm having her write both past and future tense to see what she can come up with. I'll try to make sure she does this daily as it is an excellent way to have her review the expressive language structures for these tenses. She just came over for me to check her writing and she did not have all her future tense correct. Sent her back to rewrite it before lunch.

After lunch, we had a quick lesson on volocanoes on tape and then time to go. See you soon...

Melissa

April 22, 1998

Good Morning! Kat worked on a science paper first thing this morning - she took direction from the student teacher. I stood outside and watched as she left the room and headed for art. When she spotted me, she gave me a big smile and said "good morning, Melissa." I will try to do a few more of these spot cheeks without her seeing me. It really gives me an idea of how well she does without us.

Tried a little more of this in art. She had to paint a scupture of the thinker that she did the day you and T. observed. I gave her no H-O-H help and only a few verbal prompts from a disance - This worked very well and she completed the project herself, including clean-up and searching out materials. Most prompts were for attention with Mrs. D2. was giving directions. A fire drill threw her off a bit - she thought they were outside to play!

Went through her reading lesson in Mrs. R's room with the student teacher Ms. L1. I stood in the back of the room and moved around to observe her. She watched the clock quite a bit and Ms. L1. had to bring her attention back to the lesson a few times. Kat responded well and the amazing thing is, her silly talk is practially nonexistent. She does hum and pose a bit when frustrated but as soon as we look at her she says "No singing, no posing."

At this moment, Mrs. R. is correcting her spelling lesson which is a long one on proofreading. She didn't do too well and is starting to cry. Mrs. R. is handling it beautifully. She told her, if you feel frustrated, relax and take a deep breath. Kat immediately dried her eyes, perked up, and took an audible deep breath!

Spoke with Mrs. R. about vocabulary for Kat. She found an excellent series of vocab. skills on the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade levels. After looking through it, I think it would be perfect for her - and we can keep spelling separate as you wisely recommended. That way, she can progress faster in spelling, help her reading sight vocab. at a higher level, and get word meanings from this series which will help her reading comprehension. I have put it in a folder in her backpack and you can begin it ASAP.

Found the Thesaurus for Kat and remembered why I thought it would be goood for her. First, it is simple (not too many words or pages), has a clear lay-out and also includes opposites written in red. Opposites (antonyms) will become increasingly important as the levels go up. you will see them included in the 3rd and 4th grade vocab. exercises. Got the 4th grade spelling list and the 4th grade spelling book which you can keep. Hope they are helpful. (She is currently in a 3rd grade speller at school.)

Kat just took her math test for Mrs. R1. and then went right into her test for science They went over the science homework and Kat got to read all her answers aloud. She was very excited and proud - the class clapped constantly for her! She took her science test - 25 multiple choice questions I made sure she read each question twice - and I noticed she sometimes changed to correct the answer.

If you get a chance, look at her journal entry today. I tried to get her to switch to future tense - gave her the prompt "I will go to lunch" and then let her go. She went right back to past tense. We need to work on this with her.

L. will be going on the field trip with her tomorrow and they should have lots of fun. Give me a call if you need anything else - if not, I'll see you next Monday at clinic.

Have a great conference at COSAC!

Melissa